Homeownership for Those under 35 Steadily Falling

The Census Bureau reports that quarterly homeownership for Americans under 35 years of age has fallen below 36 percent, a number that constitutes a new low.

The Bureau reports that in the second quarter, homeownership for those under 35 dropped to its lowest number since quarterly reports were first compiled.

According to CNSNews, “The homeownership rate among householders under 35 was 35.9 percent in the second quarter of 2014. That number was not only lower than any quarterly rate going back to the fourth quarter of 1993 but was also lower than any of the annual homeownership rates for under 35s that the Census Bureau has published since 1982.”

This 35.9 percent is down from the 2004 peak of 43.6 percent rate. The rate of under 35s owning homes has been slowly declining since the 2004 high.

This decline in homeownership is not new. In 2013, homeownership had reached an 18-year low. In August of last year, it was reported that the rate hit a record 69.2 percent in 2004 and had fallen to its pre-housing bubble of nearly two decades ago.

In September of that same year, another report found that homeownership by African Americans had also fallen to an 18-year low. Further, the poverty rate for blacks in September was 28%, compared to 10% for whites. The unemployment rate for blacks at the time was 12.6%, compared to 6.6% for whites.

By May of 2014, the rate of homeownership had fallen more still, down to 65 percent.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.